Meaning
by FloatingAmoeba
Summary: Oneshot. Hotch gets a late night phonecall, and JJ learns what it means to ask for help. JJ/Hotch, with Henry and Jack.


A/N OK, so this is my first Criminal Minds fic. I hope you don't mind, but I've used my artistic license card a little. Maybe a lot, I don't know...but I still hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much to my beta ArwenLalaith for the great help and support! :)

Disclaimer: I still don't own Criminal Minds. If anyone from CBS is willing to shove them in my direction, I won't complain.

* * *

He yawned, rolling over to reach the obnoxiously loud phone beside him.

"Hotchner," he answered.

"He won't stop crying!"

At the panicked voice at the other end of the line, Hotch sat up straight, frowning at the barely recognizable tone of his media liaison.

"JJ?"

"I didn't know who else to call," she said, her voice wavering. He could hear Henry crying in the background, and his heart broke when JJ choked back a sob.

"I'm on my way," he said, already off the bed and reaching for his sweatpants.

"OK," she replied in relief. He hung up, closing his tired eyes.

"Daddy?"

Oh crap. Of all the weekends Haley decided to leave Jack with him, it would be this one. Hotch blinked.

"Hey, buddy. What's the matter?"

Jack crept closer, rubbing his eyes.

"Who was you talking to, Daddy?" he asked sleepily. Hotch pulled on a t-shirt and his trainers.

"It was JJ, bud."

The little boy yawned, clutching his blanket to him.

"JJ from your work?"

"Yeah, son," Hotch said, now fully clothed and reaching for his keys, "Hey, you want to take a ride?"

* * *

For the first time in his life, SSA Aaron Hotchner broke the rules.

And the speed limits.

He was certain that JJ lived more than five minutes away from him. In less than three, he was turning haphazardly into her street. Thoughts were flying through his head faster than Hotch could organize them.

Was she hurt? Was Henry hurt? Why wasn't Will there? Was JJ in danger? Should he call the team?

Jerking the car to a sudden stop, Hotch almost leapt from his seat, racing around to Jack's door. His son blinked sleepily.

"Are we there?" he mumbled, planting his sock covered feet on the ground. Hotch nodded, and led his son up the front path to the house set just back from the road.

He rang the bell, and rapped anxiously on the door, his heart sinking further with every second that JJ didn't answer. Jack swayed on his feet, close to being asleep again. For the second time, Hotch rang the bell.

"JJ, it's me!"

Finally, she opened the door, a screaming Henry in her arms. The first thing he noticed was that she looked like hell. And for JJ, that was saying something.

"He won't stop crying, and I didn't know who else to call."

Without saying anything, Hotch ushered a barely-awake Jack through the door, taking the baby from her.

"The den is through there, Jack," he said, already rocking Henry back and forth. Struggling to keep his eyes open, Jack was asleep again as soon as his head hit the cushions.

Henry's cries had lessened the moment Hotch took him into his arms, and the senior agent smiled slightly. JJ brushed away her tears, running a hand through her hair.

"I didn't know who else to call," she repeated. Hotch shook his head, gently nudging her down the hall to the kitchen.

"It's OK."

The baby's cheeks were bright red with the effort of maintaining his volume, and Hotch raised him up over his shoulder, feeling Henry's hiccup as he did. JJ had a nice kitchen, he realized. Spacious and roomy. Clean, yet untidy. _Much like her office, _Hotch thought.

The unit chief turned to JJ, his heart sinking at the fresh tears brewing in her eyes. "Hey, it's fine," he reassured hastily, lightly touching her arm, "why don't you go and...wash your face...or something."

He inwardly winced at how awkward he sounded. Where were Emily and Garcia when you needed them? They would be so much better at this. _No, _he thought fiercely, _JJ called __**you**__. You're not going anywhere._

JJ nodded slowly, her eyes empty as they stared at the child in his arms. Henry's cries had dropped to a disgruntled whimper, and the blonde agent felt her stomach twisting in disgust at her hopelessness.

"Right..." she murmured absently. Hotch listened for the sound of her bedroom door closing before jumping into action.

Settling Henry in the crook of his arm, Hotch headed straight for the refrigerator. Sure enough, JJ had a bottle of milk already made up, and the male agent smiled to himself knowingly.

"Your mom is one very special lady," he told the baby.

Chuckling at the confused stare he received in return, Hotch popped the lid off the bottle.

"Now where does Mommy keep the medicines, Henry?" he asked as he began to open random cupboards. Finally, alongside the glassware and a pair of socks (JJ really wasn't known for her organization skills), the unit chief found an unopened box of chamomile tea.

He switched the kettle on, gently rocking Henry back and forth. Down the hall, the bedroom door opened, and just as the water started to boil, JJ appeared in the doorway, all traces of mascara gone from her cheeks.

Hotch looked over at her. "My mother always used to add a little chamomile tea to Sean's bottle when he kept crying," he explained. JJ moved closer, reaching out a trembling hand to touch her son on the forehead.

"I didn't know what was wrong," she said quietly.

The male agent touched her arm, his fingers soft against her smooth skin. "Come on. Sit down with me."

She followed him into the living room, her eyes filling up again at the sight of Aaron Hotchner sitting in her armchair with Henry in his arms.

"I wouldn't have called if I knew you had Jack," she said, lowering her eyes to the floor. Hotch stretched an arm out to touch the back of her hand.

"It's OK. Really."

With a sigh, the blonde agent buried her face in her hands. "I'm a horrible mother," she cried, tears dropping from her cheeks. Hotch set Henry down in the bouncy chair, watching his eyes droop, and moved to sit beside her.

"Hey," he said gently, rubbing circles on her back, "JJ, don't say that. You're a brilliant mom."

"Yeah, right..."

Hotch let his hand linger over her spine, and was silent for a moment. "Do you want to talk about it?" he said eventually. She shook her head.

"You're my boss. I can't..."

"Listen, right now I'm just you're friend who wants to help."

JJ glanced up at him, losing herself in his dark brown eyes, and found herself nodding reluctantly. He finally summoned up the courage to ask the question that had been bugging him since he arrived.

"JJ, where's Will?"

She blushed, picking at the hole in her pant leg. "We had a fight. He left."

"What? When? That son of a...is that why you're so upset? Let me call him! I'll get him to..."

"Hotch, it was three weeks ago."

Hotch stopped his tirade against Will, staring at her. "The fight?" he questioned in confusion.

JJ folded her legs underneath her, awkwardly avoiding his gaze.

"We fought the night the team got back from Michigan. Three weeks ago."

He gently touched her arm. "Why didn't you say anything?" he asked softly.

JJ glanced up, a wry smile appearing.

"And listen to 'I told you so' six times?"

"The team would have..._**I **_would have been there to support you. We wouldn't have let our personal opinions about Will interfere with that."

She laughed, rubbing her tired eyes. "Hotch, could you seriously see Garcia having any restraint at all?"

"I was more concerned about Emily," he admitted. JJ nodded, shrugging slightly.

"I don't mind. Maybe it's better that he left now, before Henry is old enough to know what's going on."

"You don't think he knows that his mother is heartbroken?" Hotch said softly. She looked away, tears in her eyes, and he immediately felt guilty. "Oh, JJ, I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."

"Profile me."

He chuckled in surprise. "Why?"

"Because I'm asking you to."

"You know I can't do that."

"Screw the rules, Hotch!" she said sharply, "Profile me!"

His face turned serious.

"It's not because of the rules, Jayje. I just don't know where to start," he replied. Seeing her confusion, Hotch heaved a heavy sigh and began to explain.

"OK. Just...do me a favor and just listen?"

"Sure."

He took a deep breath. "Agent Jareau."

"Hotch, come on..." she protested. He silenced her with a finger to her lips, and JJ froze at the unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome, contact.

Knowing that she would remain silent, Hotch smiled slightly. "Agent Jareau is the most stubborn, most...most brilliant person I've ever met. She's...dedicated, to say the least."

He chuckled. "She's not shy, but gets flustered when the press hit her with an unexpected question. She's..."

If he wasn't mistaken, the sound that then came out of JJ's throat could only be described as a growl.

"_Me_, Hotch. Talk about _me_! Not some made up Barbie-doll!"

Hotch shook his head, automatically reaching over to take her hand. JJ closed her mouth abruptly, staring down at the thumb rubbing circles on her palm.

"You don't get it. I **am** talking about you! When you're at work, you're Super Agent. Nothing is too hard. But you think people can't see through you. Every case you have to turn away hurts, because if it was up to you, we'd take every file that landed on your desk. Since you had Henry, your outlook on life has changed. Now every single minute you're at the BAU is one less you're with Henry, and you don't know whether to hate your job or love it."

Now he was on a roll, and Hotch couldn't have stopped if he wanted to.

"You see more than you let on, but you won't take the profiling classes because then you're just another one of us. You know that Garcia and Kevin are getting serious but don't want to go too fast, and you know that Emily and Derek are one more step closer to getting together, and you know that part of David regrets coming back to the FBI. And Reid? If anyone knows Reid inside out, it's you. I mean, Agent Jareau is something, but just JJ? That's the person I..."

He had been about to say love. Hotch took a deep breath, surprised at himself for actually being able to get that all out.

JJ stared at him, a slight frown creasing her brow. Glancing up, Hotch smirked in surprise at the intensity of her gaze.

"What?" he asked, normally unheard amusement evident in his voice, "Do I need to powder my nose?"

JJ blinked, shaking her head. "Sorry. I just..." Her voice trailed off, studying him curiously, "I just realized something."

Hotch rested a hand on her thigh, ignoring her sharp intake of breath. "Are you OK?"

And it was like the blinkers had been lifted, letting JJ see what she assumed had been in front of her all the time. Leaning forward, she paused, their lips close but not quite touching.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, and then closed the gap between them.

She pressed her lips to his, her slim hand finding the back of his head. Hotch froze, tensing up, and then JJ had released him, the hand that had been caressing his hair hastily returning to her side.

"I'm sorry," JJ repeated softly, moving away from him. Hotch blinked.

"JJ..."

"God, I'm such a..."

Hotch caught her wrists, dragging her towards him and crushing her lips beneath his. The blonde agent released a soft moan of surprise, before tightly wrapping her arms around his neck.

He tasted like coffee and mint.

JJ felt his tongue dart out to stroke hers, and she pushed him backwards on the sofa. Hotch smiled against her lips, his hands sliding beneath her t-shirt to caress the skin at the small of her back. Her long blonde hair tickled his face.

"Hotch..." she murmured as he pushed her top even further up her body, "Your son is in the next room."

His thumbs found the lines of her ribcage, and she squirmed above him. Hotch chuckled. "Ticklish?" he teased. JJ tugged on his lower lip.

"We shouldn't be doing this."

"Why not?" Hotch said, suddenly serious.

She sat up, pulling him with her. "Because twenty minutes ago you were my boss. Now...we're making out on my couch."

"Something I'd quite like to get back to doing," he muttered.

JJ lifted a hand to his cheek, frowning slightly. "Do you mean that?" she asked.

Hotch rested his forehead against hers, his dark brown eyes looking straight into hers. "Yes, I mean that," he replied. He sighed softly. "Do you know how long I've wanted this?"

JJ shook her head. Hotch laughed.

"A really...really...really long time," he murmured, punctuating his words with slow kisses.

Her resolve was wavering.

"Hotch..." she whined, because it wasn't fair of him to control her like this.

He chuckled against her lips. "Stop thinking."

JJ groaned, finally giving in to another kiss, one that left her hot and trembling in his arms. Her fingertips ducked below his collar.

She'd just managed to get his shirt undone when Henry began to grizzle in his bouncy chair.

"See?" Hotch muttered, "You jinxed it!"

"Daddy?" Jack called sleepily. JJ smirked.

"Now who jinxed it?" she teased as the little boy appeared in the living room.

Hotch narrowed his eyes at her, before turning to his son. "Hey, bud. We should get you back to bed."

"I don't wanna go home, Daddy," Jack mumbled, already half-asleep in his father's arms, "I like JJ..." His head fell onto Hotch's shoulder, and the male agent sighed.

"You've even corrupted my son."

"Stop whining and take Jack upstairs," JJ laughed, "Second door on the right."

"And then?"

It was a loaded question, and JJ wasn't quite sure how to answer.

She looked up at him, then down to Henry, and realized that this was one time she was certain not to get hurt, because Hotch had already invested so much of himself in her. One look into his eyes told her that he would do everything in his power to protect her, to love Henry like his own.

"Jayje?"

Snapping herself out of her daydream, the blonde agent gave him a shy smile.

"First room on the left."

Hotch let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, and nodded. JJ laughed at his sudden awkwardness, the slight blush creeping into his cheeks.

"Hey, Hotch?"

"Yes?" he replied. JJ pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

"Just so you know, I always sleep on the right. And I'll shoot you if you snore."

* * *

So...somewhere in there is my original idea, but I'm not sure where, LOL. If you have a moment, please leave a review, because I'd really like to know what you think! :)


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